Colchester proudly proclaims itself to be 'Britain's oldest recorded town', having been mentioned by Roman writer Pliny the Elder in 77. It has certainly been a key town for many centuries: William the Conqueror built one of the first castles of his realm here and the Romans constructed a vast temple to the Emperor Claudius - long since destroyed. It's also believed to be the place where three popular nursery rhymes - <I>Old King Cole</I>, <I>Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star</I> and <I>Humpty Dumpty</I> first came into being.
